You Can't Order a Whopper in New Dehli...or can You?

As I was reading the Negra article on cultural fetishism through food I couldn't help but crave a tall Fosters and an order of cheese fries from the Outback Steakhouse...see what I did there? How sad is it to that any of us who have eaten at the Outback Steakhouse wouldn't be able to name some authentic australian foods and beverages. Even Fosters beer isn't even an authentic Australian beer, its british beer, yet anyone who is familiar with the beer know its slogan as "australian for beer". Yet when you go to such restaurants as these you are paying not for the culture you're told your feasting on but the cheesy authentic atmosphere. You can get the same american comfort food at any chain, but one most likely goes to a place like Bennigans because it looks like an Irish bar, or to the Olive Garden because its decorated with nostalgic images of sicily. 

I am from the Irish-american capital of the U.S; Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to my arrival in Chicago I had never heard of Bennigans because there is no way you'd be able to run a successful restaurant chain when nearly a third of the city has Irish roots. It would just be an embarrassment trying to offer a chain restaurant that only looks like a local irish pub when the real ones are on every corner of South Boston.

I myself am 100% irish. Like we discussed in class, I agree with the issue that there is a certain level of privilege that comes from having european background in the case that you it does not define oneself as a Caucasian male. I am not fluent in recanting my Irish roots, I hadn't taken advantage of learning about them until I took a class on Irish history at DePaul. However, growing up in Boston I could tell you the ins and outs of what being an Irish Bostonian meant, and what to expect when walking through South Boston, which is a historical Irish neighborhood. All I know is if Bennigans isn't serving shepherds pie, or corned beef and cabbage on ST. Patricks day, I will take my business elsewhere.